Three police officers injured in clashes with Ashdod Yeshiva students

The students, who belong to the Jerusalem Faction, clashed with police and blocked roads.

By HAGAY HACOHEN, SARAH BEN-NUN
Protesters clash with police in Ashdod over their yeshiva remaining open during Israel's nationwide lockdown. (Credit: Police Spokesperson's Unit)
Six Ashdod yeshiva students from the extremist ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem Faction group were arrested following clashes with mounted police officers on Monday.
Police arrived at the scene on Monday afternoon following reports that the Ashdod-based haredi yeshiva had broken coronavirus regulations by remaining open during Israel's nationwide lockdown.
They were called in by municipality supervisors who were being attacked at the scene.
By the time the protests ended on Monday evening, 11 individuals were arrested for disorderly conduct. Three police officers were injured during the clashes, in which hundreds of students participated. The officers were treated at the scene.
The radical Bnei Torah haredi faction said in a statement that the ultra-Orthodox population was "terrified to hear" about the police's "criminal" attempt to close the yeshiva, insisting on the legal right of the yeshiva to remain open, as it houses a dormitory.
 
The school was open and teaching students in violation of the current government guidelines. Students who placed themselves on the road in protest were dragged away by officers.
 
Meanwhile, in Modi'in Illit, similar protests took place. Dozens of ultra-Orthodox protesters confronted police when they tried to locate the head of a local Talmud Torah school after reports came in of dozens of students on the premises, according to N12.
A team of reporters who were on the scene were assaulted, and when the officers attempted to break up the assault, protesters blocked the road and damaged buses and police cars. This led to the arrest of five individuals.
 
On Sunday, police reported 4,664 lockdown violations, issuing fines to the transgressors. Some 2,890 of them were for going outside of the one kilometer zone around where people reside.
In addition, 1,314 individuals were fined for not wearing a mask, 76 people were fined for breaking quarantine and 95 businesses were fined for operating despite the restrictions.